Remnent, Discontentment, Commandment: Romans 11:1-24 (Sermon)
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WELCOME
Good morning, church! I just got back from South Texas, where myself and the team visited Sarah and Irian Hernandez. Our Mission Giving includes supporting them as they serve with Rio Grande Bible Ministries and training pastors and missionaries from South and Central America to reach the lost. It was neat to hear how God was working.
TEXT
This morning, we are continuing our series in Romans. The apostle Paul wrote this letter to the church in Rome. He wrote around AD 57. The growing church had a significant Jewish history and presence.
There were no Bible colleges, seminaries, or christian schools.
No publishing houses were pumping out Christian books.
There were no denominations.
Everything was new, making Paul’s letter critical to the church's health. The church and the gospel had been on the scene for less than twenty years. Paul longed to be there in person. He planned to head there on the way to Spain. He began with the gospel, the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Romans 1:16–17). Salvation presumes danger. The reality is everyone is born in jeopardy of God’s wrath. From the Jewish person to the non-Jewish person, every single person has strayed from God’s ways and needs mercy. God is merciful. His mercy extends further than you can imagine. He demonstrated it by sending his one and only Son, Jesus, to rescue you and me through his crucifixion and resurrection. His life is a flashing beacon proclaiming his love to everyone who will listen. Yet, God’s extravagant affection can be confusing. The Bible begins with the story of one family that God promised to love forever, Israel, his chosen people. Did God stop loving them and turn his affection on the world? Did he renege on his promise? Chapters 9 through 11 explain; God has always and will always love his people, some are chosen by grace and others are not. As Romans 9:6 says, “But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel” (Romans 9:6, ESV).
SCRIPTURE
I am going to have Robert and Stephanie Kracker read for us. Would you please stand with me in honor of God’s Word?
I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” But what is God’s reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written,
“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that would not see
and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.”
And David says,
“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
and bend their backs forever.”
So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!
Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree. (Romans 11:1–24, ESV)
PRAY
Thank you. Let’s pray. Heavenly Father. I need you to govern my words as I explain and preach your Word. By the power of the Holy Spirit, fill us with faith, humility, and awe in what you have done and who you are. In Jesus’s name, we pray. Amen. You may be seated.
STRUCTURE
The passage seems to have three sections:
1-10 God’s remnant
11-16 God’s plan for discontentment
17-24 God’s commandments
Let me repeat that:
1-10 God’s remnant
11-16 God’s plan for discontentment
17-24 God’s commandments
The point Paul was making was that God chose some of Israel and some Gentiles to save more. Let me say that again. God chose some of Israel and some Gentiles to save more. We can become spiritually more like the Pharisees who rejected Jesus and Christianity. They let their religiousness get to their heads and misunderstood God’s Word and work. Turn in your Bibles to Romans Chapter 11 to see how this connects to us today.
SECTION 1: GOD’S REMNANT
Look at verse 1:
“I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew” (Romans 11:1–2, ESV).
Church, God loves his people. His people are the
Israelites,
Descendants of Abraham,
And Jewish.
Jesus was Jewish, as promised by God in the Tanakh, our Old Testament. He came to save Israel from their sins (Matthew 1:21). God promised them a name, land, and people. And God keeps his promise.
He gave them Jesus, the greatest name above all names.
He gave them Israel but promised them a new Jerusalem.
He gave them a new identity as his spiritual children, a blessing to the whole world.
God knew in advance he would do this, and some would be receptive and others not. He would open blind eyes and soften hard hearts by grace. And God is not done working. He has a plan to bring them back en masse.
ANSWERING THROUGH QUESTIONS
Look at the second part of verse 2:
Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” But what is God’s reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace. (Romans 11:2b–6, ESV)
Paul quoted 1 Kings 19. In that passage, the prophet Elijah complained to God about his mission. He felt alone. You see, after a miraculous demonstration of God’s power, a prediction of rain, and its fulfillment, the King of Israel, Ahab, and his wife, Jezebel, instead of thanking God’s messenger and repenting of their sin, they sought to execute him. They could not humble themselves and find God’s grace, even though they were part of God’s people. Elijah escaped to the wilderness. Alone, he questioned the point of his life.
God gave him food.
He spoke to him audibly.
He told him he was not alone. He had kept 7000 who didn’t worship the false idol, Baal.
Paul connects the dots. There is a remnant in his day and our day. And the means by which God picked and preserved the remnant was by what means? Was it their righteousness? Did they make extra sacrifices? Did they follow all the Ten Commandments? Did they always go to Temple? Did he look into the future and predict who the best people were? What does the text say? It was by grace.
QUOTATIONS
Paul gave two more quotes from the Old Testament to demonstrate how God worked:
What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written,
“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that would not see
and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.”
And David says,
“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
and bend their backs forever.” (Romans 11:7–10, ESV)
Paul,
Cited Isaiah 29, Deuteronomy 29, and Psalm 69 here.
God chose Moses, Isaiah, and David, and they knew some of God’s people. Moses and Isaiah spoke on God’s behalf, saying he was hardening some, just as God hardened the non-Jewish Pharaoh. David experienced the waywardness of God’s people and prayed for justice and retribution.
Not all those who profess to be God’s people are. Genealogy doesn’t make one a child of God. Religiosity doesn’t make one a child of God. It is not a magical identification that we conjure up with secret incantations. We can’t twist God’s arm. God sees all and holds us accountable. God is not a life force or distant alien. He cares about obedience and our knowing him. Yet, we can’t do either. Everyone is without excuse. Even if you didn’t grow up in a Christian home, God’s attributes and moral bare-minimum expectations are obvious enough. We all have failed the diagnostic test and deserve God’s punishment. God gives us the freedom to go our own way and make a mess of things. We struggle with addictions, harmful choices, and sin, in the imminent threat of judgment and eternal punishment. But we don’t need to despair. God became a man and sent angels and prophets. He gave us his inspired, perfectly preserved Word and the Holy Spirit to get our attention and show mercy on some.
GOD’S PLANNED DISCONTENTMENT
What was God doing in hardening Israel and allowing them to go their own way? Some questions we won’t have answers to. Paul did tell us one motivation of God. It was to create discontentment. Look at verse 11:
So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean! Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches. (Romans 11:11–16, ESV)
God ordained stumbling. He allowed people to rebel. He hardened and brought good out of that evil. The most telling example of this is the crucifixion of Jesus, the innocent for the vile. God planned more hardening to bring about the inclusion of the non-Jewish. And out of that, our passage says, one day it will spur on discontentment leading to the salvation of the Jewish people. The Greek word Jealousy means, “to make jealous, to cause to be envious.” Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains, Louw, Johannes P., Nida, Eugene A.
GREATER GOOD
Paul was making a point in verse 12. If Israel’s rejection of the Messiah meant the world could hear and enjoy Jesus, what might happen on the day that there is a mass conversion? If something bad led to something wonderful, what might something good lead to? God was, is, and will do amazing things among his people.
PAUL SPEAKS
In verses 13 through the end of verse 24, Paul zeroed in on the non-Jewish. Paul was an apostle, meaning sent by God, a missionary and church planter of sorts. His focus was on these non-Jewish people, the Gentiles.
MISSIONS
Our church has sent out and supports several missionaries and church planters.
In our Sunday School time, we talked about our recent trip to encourage Sarah and Irian, who, like Paul, are helping train pastors and missionaries. Their focus is on training Latin America into a mission force.
This church supports Justin and Emily Vander-Ark as they seek to equip people to go to unreached places to share Jesus.
We support Jeff Dryden, who helps train pastors and leaders in Central Asia and Romania to understand and teach God’s Word with God’s heart.
We support Mitchell and Tara Wimbush as they seek to help people translate God’s Word into their language.
We support Mike Bowden, as he helps care for the spiritual well-being of missionaries and pastors.
We support many missionaries and agencies seeking to share the good news about Jesus. They each have a specific calling. Paul’s calling was to the non-Jewish people in the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Turkey, and Greece. He planted churches and encouraged believers. He began in synagogues and moved to homes, reasoning with people day and night. People came to faith. Some loved it and wanted more, others hated his message and wanted him dead. In Romans 11, God is predicting that one day the Jewish detractors will become Jewish believers.
DISCONTENTMENT
How might this work? Have you read the book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer? Have you ever read that book? [Apple, paint brush, mobile mic.] Tom was a naughty kid. One of his punishments was to paint a white picket fence. And he was looking for a way out. Along came a boy named Ben Rogers. Ben said to Tom,
“Say – I’m going in a-swimming, I am. Don’t you wish you could? But of course you’d druther work – wouldn’t you? Course you would!”
Tom contemplated the boy a bit, and said:
“What do you call work?”
“Why, ain’t that work?”
Tom resumed his whitewashing, and answered carelessly:
“Well, maybe it is, and maybe it ain’t. All I know, is, it suits Tom Sawyer.”
“Oh come, now, you don’t mean to let on that you like it?”
The brush continued to move.
“Like it? Well, I don’t see why I oughtn’t to like it. Does a boy get a chance to whitewash a fence every day?”
That put the thing in a new light. Ben stopped nibbling his apple. Tom swept his brush daintily back and forth – stepped back to note the effect – added a touch here and there – criticised the effect again – Ben watching every move and getting more and more interested, more and more absorbed. Presently he said:
“Say, Tom, let me whitewash a little.”
Tom considered, was about to consent; but he altered his mind:
“No – no – I reckon it wouldn’t hardly do, Ben. You see, Aunt Polly’s awful particular about this fence – right here on the street, you know – but if it was the back fence I wouldn’t mind and she wouldn’t. Yes, she’s awful particular about this fence; it’s got to be done very careful; I reckon there ain’t one boy in a thousand, maybe two thousand, that can do it the way it’s got to be done.”
“No – is that so? Oh come, now – lemme, just try. Only just a little – I’d let you, if you was me, Tom.”
Tom was tricking Ben. God isn’t playing tricks. This is life and death. God wants his people to get interested in us non-Jews becoming a part of his family.
GLORY
How might that happen? We aren’t painting fences. Think of this. A few weeks back, we looked at Chapter 8. If you have a moment this week, go back and look at all the blessings you get because of your personal relationship with Jesus. The blessings are staggering. The exquisite truths motivate us to love and change for the better. God calls us to not some stiff prudish puritanical humdrum, but joy and abundant guilt-free living. His kindness moves us toward unfettered generosity and pleasure. It inspires us to be like him. When we aim in that direction, the Bible tells us that one day the Jewish people will come back to their senses in a jealous kind of way. Maybe they get jealous or ask questions.
FAIR FOOD
Someone told me recently that at the Berrien County Youth Fair, they strategically placed the steak stand in the main thoroughfare so everyone could see it and see the lines. Fans spread the lovely aroma, attracting the envy of every passerby. Friends, we want our love to spread like a viral infection. Yet, instead of causing death and disease it causes abundant, eternal life.
PAUL’S LIFE
Paul lived what he preached.
He shared Jesus with his brothers, countrymen, and strangers.
He shared it with his persecutors, kings, and jailers.
He shared it with anyone who would listen.
He died for this message. In fact, if he could, he would go to hell to help people meet Jesus. He loved God and people to death.
We should too. May the world know we are disciples by our love for one another and want that love.
SO WHAT? GOD’S COMMANDMENTS
Paul didn’t want the non-Jewish people to become like the lost religious people. Look at verses 17 through 24:
But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree. (Romans 11:17–24, ESV)
LOSING SALVATION
Paul wrote, “Otherwise you too will be cut off.” Was Paul teaching that we can lose our salvation? No, he is not. He is reminding them of the basis of their salvation. We are saved by what? By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
GOD GRAFTS
God grafts us into him. He can prune the unbelieving and adopt us into his family tree. Here is a picture of a grafting:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Graft_(PSF).png
Who does the grafting? God. We should never forget it.
ANTISEMITISM
Paul called the people to keep grace in mind. Don’t be arrogant and proud. Specifically, don’t be anti-semitic.
Why would a Christian do that?
They have forgotten grace. A broadened application of this reminder is for us to,
Do not look down on others for a different perspective politically or theologically,
And not be unkind or rude toward those who hold to different beliefs.
To act this way is to have amnesia, distancing ourselves from how we came alive spiritually in the first place; it is only by God’s grace.
FEAR
But that was not the only command in our passage. You might ask, “What is the other one?” God wants us to fear. Didn’t Paul write in Romans 8:15 that God doesn’t want us to fear?
“For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” (Romans 8:15, ESV).
We are not to be stuck in a catatonic state, afraid of condemnation, nor are we to be held in bondage to what other people think or the Devil. That type of fear God frees us from. However, there is a different fear he desires. The Proverbs tells us that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7; 9:10). Romans 3 states,
None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one….
There is no fear of God before their eyes. (Romans 3:10b–18, ESV)
This fear is what God wants. It is a respect, like the kind we may get when standing outside as a lightning storm is fast approaching, or standing at the edge of a towering height and looking down, or a close contact we could get when approaching a monarch. Why? God’s not a pushover or a drinking buddy. He is good, kind, and loving. He is also transcendent, other, and holy. Paul reasoned that God can graft and sever. It is like a parent saying to the mouthy kid, “I brought you into the world, and I can take you out.” Just as the Jewish population should not think they have an in with God because of genetics, we should not think we have a safe based on ours or something other than God’s grace. We need to esteem him as we should and not fall into the trap of spiritual snobbery. Let’s be humble and brutally honest with our dirt and God. We are not getting to him based on our perfection.
UNBELIEF
God is calling his people and us to faith in him, not our righteousness. The faith God requires of us is centered in Jesus, God’s one and only Son, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, crucified, died, and was buried. After three days, he rose again. And he appeared. He ascended into heaven. And in the near future, he will come again to judge the living and the dead. We need to believe in that, and we will be saved. There is no salvation in anyone else. Jesus is our only hope.
PRIDE
Therefore, as we wrap up, Let us not be prideful or arrogant. We believe what we believe because we think we are right. And yet, we don’t know everything. We can be wrong. I know I have been about things. And if we are right, we are by grace. Throw off any ounce of holier-than-thou pharisaism. Let us humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord, as the camp song says. Let us ask ourselves this week, “In what ways are we tempted to be self-righteous, prideful, and arrogant?” And then run the other direction.
FEAR
Let us also be respectful. Fear God. What might it look like for you to show God the deference he deserves? Think of the spheres you live in.
If God were to come over to your house for dinner, what would change about how you live?
If he were to come to your work, how might your work change?
If he were to study with you or work next to you, how might you go about your business?
If God were to ride the bench with you, how would you behave?
If God were next to you when you are online, what would you post or look at?
Let us live a life honoring our great, merciful, loving Father, who cares for us and wants what is best for us. He died to make us right and calls us to live by grace through faith. So let’s do that.
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